Bottle carrier



H. 2. GRAY BOTTLE CARRIER Nov. 2, 1943.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 16, 1940 LINVENTOR HARRY Z. GRAY ATTORNEYS Nov. 2, 1943. H. 2. GRAY BOTTLE CARRIER Filed Oct, 16, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 NNNNNN OR HARRY Z. GRAY ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 2, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BOTTLE CARRIER Harry Z. Gray, Lebanon, Ohio Application October 16, 1940, Serial No. 361,429 3 Claims. (Cl. 224-45) This invention relates to bottl carriers such as are employed for carrying bottles in lots of a half dozen or less, and more especially it relates to bottle carriers such as are made of folded cardboard, boxboard or the like, and which support the bottles from the bottoms thereof. Bottle carriers of the character mentioned usually are so formed as to engage the necks of the respective bottles to steady them and to assist in preventing rattling.

The chief objects of this invention are to provide a bottle carrier of the character mentioned having improved means at the respective ends thereof for engaging bottles therein, and thereby to supplement the means engaging the bottle necks in holding the bottles securely in th carrier; to provide such a bottle carrier consisting of one-piece structure; to provide a carrier having bottle-engaging means at the ends thereof that do not require the use of adhesives or other securing means to hold said bottle-engaging means in place; to provide a one-piece bottle carrier comprising end abutments wherein the latter do not effect a shortening of the length of base of the carrier; and to provide a carrier of the type mentioned that may be manufactured, stored, and shipped in fiat, knockdown form yet which readily may be folded to service shape when desired. Other objects will be manifest as the specification proceeds.

Ofthe accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a. plan view of the blank of which the embodiment of the invention is composed;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the bottle carrier after it has been folded to service condition, and

a plurality of bottles therein;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4-is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a blank of another embodiment of the invention;

when the blank is folded, which sides extend upwardly from the base and are secured together at their upper ends, at the top of the carrier.

For securing the sides l2 together at the top of the carrier, one side is centrally formed with a rectangular aperture l4 and the other side is centrally incised to form a tab or flap I5 that is unsevered along the margin thereof that is adjacent the end-margin of the blank, said tab being creased at [6 along its unsevered margin for subsequent folding. The flap l5 has the shape of a laterally flattened ellipse, that is somewhat longer than the aperture Hi. When the blank A is folded to service condition and the sides of the carrier are brought together in face-to-face relation as shown in Fig. 2, the tab l5 may be flexed along the crease l6 and forced through the aperture Hi, the rounded end portions of the tab flexing sufiiciently to enable the. tab to pass through the aperture, said end portions thereafter preventing the tab from retracting back through the aperture during normal use. The arrangement provides a hand grip by means of which the carrier may be carried without discomfort to the bearer.

Each end portion of the blankA is formed with three short longitudinally disposed slots I8, l8 that are suitably spaced apart from each other. The middle slot It! at one end opens into the aperture l4, and the middle slot at the other end of the blank opens into the space formed by the removal of the tab I5. When the carrier is folded to service condition, as shown in Fig. 2, and bot- Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective View of a lower corner of the carrier of Fig. 5 after it is folded to service condition; and

Fig. 7 is a section on the line 1-1 of Fig. 6.

Referring now to Fig. 1 of the drawings, there is shown a blank A of which the carrier shown in Fig. 2 is constructed, said blank preferably being of heavy cardboard material. In profile the blank is a symmetrical rectangle, the corners thereof being rounded as. shown, Because of their symmetrical shape, a plurality of the blanks A may be cut from a large sheet of material without appreciable waste of material. When the blank subsequently is folded to service shape, the

tles l 9 are mounted therein, the necks of the bottles will extend through the slots l8, and movement of the bottles relatively of the carrier will be resisted.

As shown in Fig. 1, the medial region of the blank A is formed, near the opposite sides of the blank, with respective incisions 2|. Each of said incisions is angular, and comprises a medial portion that is parallel to theadjacent margin of the blank and which transects a crease H, and terminal portions joined to its opposite ends and extending obliquely toward the adjacent margin of the blank. The free ends of each oblique incision are connected by a crease, indicated by a broken line 22, which crease is disposed parallel to the adjacent margin of the blank in that part of the crease that is located in portion 12 of the blank, the portion of the crease located in base portion ll) of the blank being obliquely disposed with relation to the margin of the blank. The pentagonal geometric figures bounded by the respective incisions 2| and creases 22 are designated 23, and constitute abutments in the folded, service condition of the carrier.

When the blank A is folded from the fiat condition shown in Fig. 1 to the services-condition shown in Fig. 2, the portions 23 are flexed inwardly along the creases 22, as the sides H! are bent toward each other at right angles to the base "I, and also are reversely bent along the creases II that extend thereacross. Thus when the carrier is completely folded as shown in Fig. 2, a major portion of each member 23 will stand erect in oblique relation to the sidewall I: to which it is connected along one of its margins, a minor portion of the member lying flush against the bottom I of the carrier and connecting the bottom margin of the member thereto. The

members 23 thus constitute abutments at each.

end of the carrier adapted to prevent endwise displacement of the bottles I! in the carrier by engagement with the bottoms of the bottles that are disposed at the ends of the carrier. Since the abutments 23 are integral with the container structure along two of their adjacent margins, they are capable of withstanding considerable pressure without flexing. Furthermore, that portion of each abutment that rests upon the base of the carrier, in service is overlaid by a bottle, as indicated by the broken line position of the latter in Figs. 2 and 3, which further assures rigidity of the upright portion of the abutment.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the invention provides an improved carrier that is of simple construction, that does not require adhesives or rivets to maintain its end abutments in place, and which achieves the other advantages set out in the foregoing statement of objects.

Although the carrier as shown is designed for transporting but three bottles arranged in a single row, the invention is adaptable to carriers holding six bottles arranged in two rows. In the latter case it is only necessary to widen the base It] and provide two of the abutments 23 at each end of the carrier, the abutments being arranged to engage the end bottles of each row of bottles.

The embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 5 to 7, inclusive, is essentially similar to that previously described. It is constructed from a cardboard blank B that is of the same shape as the blank A previously described, and when folded to service shape, the medial transverse region Illa thereof becomes the bottom of the carrier, said region being defined by parallel creases indicated by the broken lines Ha, Ila. The re gions l2a, [2a of the blank, at each side of the medial region Illa thereof, become thesides of the carrier when the blank is folded, which sides extend upwardly from the base and are secured together at their upper ends in the same manner as the previously described embodiment of the invention.

Like blank A, the blank 13 is formed with angular incisions 21a, 2|a, that extend transversely of respective creases Ila. The free ends of each incision 2la connect with creases indicated by the broken lines 22a, 22a, which creases are iden-- tical with the creases 22 of the previously dein Fig. 6 in the same manner as in the embodiment previously described, each abutment 26 assuming the position shown. Because of the presence of the apertures 25, each of said abutments is, in effect, a strap that has one of its ends united with a side l2a of the carrier and has its other end united with the base of the carrier. It will be obvious that the size of the apertures 25 may be varied if desired, and that the width of the abutment straps may vary according to the size of said apertures. This embodiment of the invention possesses all the advantages of the embodiment previously described. In addition, the presence of the apertures 25 obviates bulkiness that otherwise would be present at the juncture of several folded surfaces, especially if the carrier is composed of relatively thick cardboard.

Other modification may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention, or the scope thereof as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1'. A sling container for bottles, comprising a sheet of cardboard or the like having some lines extending crosswise thereof demarking a bottle supporting bottom and two side walls, the said score lines being hinge lines on which the walls may be swung upward relatively to the bottom and brought thereover to form a bottle chamber closed at the top and open at the ends, and bottle-stop tabs at opposite ends of the bottle field of the chamber defined by cuts in the bottom and in the swingable side wall sections of the sheet between the end edges of the container, and by score lines in said sheet sections providing permanent hinge connections of the tabs to said sections, whereby on upward swing of the side walls to close the chamber at scribed embodiment except that they terminate in an aperture 25 that is disposed astrlde a crease Ma. The geometric figures bounded by the respective incisions 2la', creases 22a, and apertures 25 constitute abutments 26 in the folded, service condition of the carrier.

The blank 13 is folded from the flat condition shown in Fig. 5 to the service condition shown the top, the tabs are swung into and crosswise field thereof.

2. A bottle carrier comprising a sheet of cardboard or the like having score lines extending transversely thereof demarking a bottle supporting bottom and two side members, the said score lines being hinge lines on which the side members may be swung upward relativelyof the bottom and brought thereover to form a bottle chamber closed at the top and open at the ends, and bottle-stop abutments at opposite ends of the bottle field of the chamber defined by cuts in the bottom and in the swingable side members of the sheet between. the end edges of the carrier, and by score lines in said sheet sections providing permanent hinge connections of the abutments to said sections, the score lines of each abutment intersecting each other, whereby on upward swing of the side members to close the chamber at the top, the. abutments are swung into and crosswise of the chamber at opposite ends of the bottle field thereof.

3. A combination as defined in claim 2 wherein the score lines of each abutmentcomprise a score line in a side member parallel to the end edge thereof, and a score line in the carrier bottom disposed at an angle to the end edge thereof, said score lines intersecting each other on one of the transverse score lines of the sheet.

HARRY Z. GRAY. 

